When metallic wire is handled, there is a tendency for the wire to kink and bend. The presence of kinks and bends in a length of wire may impede its ability to be manipulated to effectuate termination of the wire, such as by attachment to a contact on a connector, or to a binding post. For this reason, wires are commonly straightened, with the aid of a wire straightener, prior to termination.
In the past, there existed roller-type straighteners which employ a plurality of rollers which press against the wire as it is drawn along the rollers to remove any kinks or bends. There also exist die-type straighteners which consist of a plurality of tubes, each having its ends beveled. The tubes are each mounted in a rotating arbor. Passage of the wire through each tube as the arbor rotates causes the wire to be straightened.
The roller-type and die-type straighteners tend to be large and bulky devices. For this reason, a third type of wire straightener, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,977,934 issued on Dec. 18, 1990 in the names of C. R. Anderson et al. and assigned to AT&T Bell Laboratories, has been developed. The Anderson et al. wire straightener is comprised of a plurality of tubes, each having at least a pair of bends, the bends oriented orthogonal to each other. A wire threaded through a tube will be bent in each of two perpendicular planes so that the wire will be straight upon emergence of the tube.
Each of the above-described wire straighteners incurs the disadvantage that each can only accept a wire of a particular diameter. This disadvantage may prove inconsequential if only a single wire size is present. However, in many instances, wires of different sizes must be straightened, necessitating multiple straighteners.
Thus, there is a need for a wire straightener for accommodating different size wires.